The Department consists of clinical medical Units (81 beds), one centralizedday hospital (28 beds), 22 outpatient rooms, and a laboratory area for clinicalcell manipulation, flow cytometry, clinical pharmacology, and molecular biology.The routine clinical activity is focused on the treatment of adult and pediatricpatients with solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. Several clinical pro-grams are active, which range from conventional chemotherapy to phase Istudies to the transplantation of hematopoietic cells. The Department is organized in Units which are in charge of different aspectsof cancer research and treatment. • Medical Oncology 1: gastrointestinal and lung tumors, melanoma, renal, andprostate cancers and breast carcinomas; treatment and development of newdrugs • Medical Oncology 2: preclinical and clinical activities mainly in the field ofmalignant lymphomas and germ cell tumors• Pediatric Oncology: pediatric patients with solid cancers • Hematology and Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplantation: treatment ofhematologic malignancies and allogeneic transplantation. • Adult Sarcoma Medical Treatment: clinical research activities in sarcomasand peritoneal mesothelioma• Head and Neck Cancer Medical Oncology: clinical activity in head and neckcarcinomas• The Medical Day Hospital deals with adult patients referred by the clinicalUnits of the Department; diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up neuroendocrinetumors• The Cardiology/Pneumology and Psychology Units cover all aspects ofpatients in their specific setting (see Shared Resources page 139).

UNITS

HEMATOLOGY AND ALLOGENEICBONE MARROW

TRANSPLANTATION (ETMO)Paolo Corradini

MEDICAL ONCOLOGY 1Filippo de Braud

(since August 1st)

MEDICAL ONCOLOGY 2Alessandro M. Gianni

PEDIATRIC ONCOLOGYMaura Massimino

ADULT SARCOMA MEDICALTREATMENTPaolo G. Casali

HEAD AND NECK CANCERMEDICAL ONCOLOGY

Lisa Licitra

MEDICAL DAY HOSPITALRoberto Buzzoni

DIRECTOR OF DEPARTMENT

Paolo CorradiniProfessor of Hematology

University of Milan+39 02 2390 2950

paolo.corradini@istitutotumori.mi.it

MEDICAL ONCOLOGYDEPARTMENT

107 Scientific Report 2011

hematology and allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (ETMO)

HEAD Paolo Corradini, MD

CLINICAL RESEARCH STAFF Anna Dodero, MD Vittorio Montefusco, MD Lucia Farina, MD Jacopo Mariotti, MD

RESEARCH STAFFCristiana Carniti, PhD

CLINICAL FELLOWSFrancesco Spina, MD, PhD Mara Morelli, MD Cecilia Olivares, MD

RESIDENTS Serena Dalto, MD Alberto Mussetti, MD Luisa Roncari, MD

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSAntonio Vendramin, Biol Sci D, PhD

PHD STUDENTS Anisa Bermema, Biol Sci D Silvia Gimondi, Biol Sci D

DATA MANAGERSLiana Bevilacqua, Debora Degl’Innocenti

ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL Marialuisa Longhi, Elena Maggioni

NURSESGiorgia Gobbi, Rosa Abate, Sonia Citro,Letteria Consolo, Riccardo De Stefano,David Guiote Pertierra, Donatella Luongo,Simona Mazzella, Elisabetta Martinell,Francesco Murana, Rita Russo, LeonardoOrsini, Rita Sciancalepore, SerafinaTomasicchio, Giuseppe Torregrossa, AnnaVernone

HEALTHCARE ASSISTANTS Carmelo Fede, Evelina Palella, Jose NoboaVelasco, Nunzio Bovello

The ETMO Unit coordinates and takes part in severalclinical trials testing new combinations of drugs and mon-oclonal antibodies for the treatment of lymphoid andmyeloid malignancies with the aim of enhancing anti-tumor activity while reducing toxic effects. Several newtrials have been started:• a Phase III randomized trial comparing the efficacy ofG-CHOP versus R-CHOP in previously untreatedpatients with CD20-positive DLBCL; • a randomized phase III study to compare bortezomib,melphalan, prednisone (VMP) with high dose melphalanfollowed by bortezomib, lenalidomide, dexamethasone(VRD) consolidation, and lenalidomide maintenance inpatients with newly-diagnosed multiple myeloma;• Phase I study of a new protein kinase C inhibitor inpatients with CD79-mutant diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The Unit has also focused on: • a phase I/II study of pomalidomide, cyclophosphamide,and prednisone (PCP) in patients with multiple myelomarelapsed and/or refractory to lenalidomide;

• a phase III trial for multiple myeloma patients at firstrelapse aimed at comparing the activity of a regimenincluding either bortezomib or lenalinomide combinedwith cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone. The studyincludes a biological portion aimed at the evaluation ofsimple biomarkers that may be useful to predict longterm response in the relapse setting. Other research projects include phenotypic, functionaland molecular characterization of post-transplant T-celland B-cell recovery to elucidate the kinetics of theimmune reconstitution after stem cell transplantation,prospective analysis of the plasma miRNA profile of allo-grafted patients to identify markers predictive of acuteGVHD (aGVHD), onset analysis of the effects of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), dose contained in thegraft on the incidence of GVHD use of a mouse modelof peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCLs), and test in vivothe activity of new drugs and drug combinations.Keywords: lymphoma, transplantation, myeloma

RELEVANT NOTES

Publications

Barosi G, Bosi A, Abbracchio MP, Danesi R,Genezzani A, Corradini P, Pane F, Tura S. Keyconcepts and critical issues on epoetin andfilgrastim biosimilars. A position paper from theItalian Society of Hematology, Italian Society ofExperimental Hematology, and Italian Group forBone Marrow Transplantation. Haematologica.2011; 96: 937-42.

Corradini P, Sarina B, Farina L. Allogeneictransplantation for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Br JHaematol. 2011; 152: 261-72.

Thiel U, Wawer A, Wolf P, Badoglio M, Santucci A,Klingebiel T, Basu O, Borkhardt A, Laws HJ, KoderaY, Yoshimi A, Peters C, Ladenstein R, Pession A,Prete A, Urban EC, Schwinger W, Bordigoni P,Salmon A, Diaz MA, Corradini P. et al. Noimprovement of survival with reduced- versushigh-intensity conditioning for allogeneic stem celltransplants in Ewing tumor patients. Ann Oncol.2011; 22: 1614-21.

108Medical Oncology Department

medical oncology 1

HEAD Filippo de Braud, MD

CLINICAL RESEARCH STAFF Bianchi Giulia Valeria, MD Buzzoni Roberto, MD Capri Giuseppe, MD Celio Luigi, MD Cresta Sara, MD Del Vecchio Michele, MD Di Bartolomeo Maria, MD Garassino Marina, MD Mariani Gabriella, MD Moliterni Angela, MD Procopio Giuseppe, MD Zilembo Nicoletta, MD Platania Marco, MD Elena Verzoni, MD

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSMilena Vitali, MD Damian Silvia, MD De Benedictis Elena, MD Di Guardo Lorenza, MD Dotti K. Fiorella, MD Mariani Paola, MD Pietrantonio Filippo, MD Pusceddu Sara, MD

RESEARCH STAFF Antonia A. Martinetti, Biol Sci D

RESIDENTS Agustoni Francesco, MD; Biondani Pamela,MD; Dazzani M. Chiara, MD; GevorgyanArpine, MD; Parati M. Chiara, MD; PumaElisa, MD; Ricchini Francesca, MD; SicaLorenzo, MD; Tessari Anna, MD; TestaIsabella, MD

ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL Barbara Formisano, Giuseppa Iannaci,Susanna Maggi

DATA MANAGER Sinno Valentina, Alessandra Siliprandi

In 2011, the previous two Divisions of Medical Oncologymanaging most solid tumors were merged under thedirection of Dr Filippo de Braud since August 1, as it waswhen Gianni Bonadonna was leading Medical Oncologyin our Institute. Our mission is to improve clinical careand outcomes of medical treatment of cancer throughmultidisciplinary management, personalized medicine, anddevelopment of new drugs and strategies. A major efforthas been made to restore the infrastructure for inpatientcare and renew the clinical research structure. Major areas of interest are: • Translational research on prognostic and/or predictivebiomarkers in most solid tumors (upper and lower gas-trointestinal tract, non-small cell lung cancer, malignantpleural mesothelioma, and thymoma). • New generation targeted therapy and immunotherapyfor malignant melanoma.• Adjuvant and systemic treatment of patients affectedby renal cell carcinoma and the management of castra-tion-resistant prostate cancer using new therapeuticapproaches. • The identification and selection of different subsets of

breast cancer patients to be treated differently accordingto the molecular profile of their disease (i.e. integratingtargeted therapies with standard chemotherapy or withhormone treatment).• Active involvement in research on antiemetic drugs. • A unit fully dedicated to new drug development(phase I and Ib studies) and the promotion oftranslational research projects. In this regard, we proposenot only to develop treatments using new molecularcompounds, but also to investigate new therapeuticstrategies.

The facilities available at Medical Oncology include a 22bed inpatient ward, a day hospital area, 9 consultingrooms (one of which is dedicated to consultations andfirst-admittance visits), and a research laboratory for phar-macokinetic and pharmacodynamic evaluation of newtreatments. In 2011, the Unit carried out 37,387 clinicalvisits, 458 consultations to patients at first access; 2 phaseI, 6 phase II, and 5 phase III trials were activated in the lastquarter of 2011.Keywords: patient care, new drug development, personalized medicine

RELEVANT NOTES

Collaborations

The clinical research activities stem from theproductive collaboration with different institutesand cooperative groups. OM1 has a long-standingcollaboration with the Breast Cancer WorkingGroup of the Michelangelo Foundation aimed atthe conduct and the coordination of Phase II/IIItrials in operable breast cancer or metastaticdisease. The collaboration with the SouthernEurope New Drugs Organization is focused onPhase I and early Phase II studies in breast cancerand all solid tumor types.

Publications

Del Vecchio M, Mortarini R, Tragni G, Di GuardoL, Borsani I, Di Tolla G, Agustoni F, Colonna V,

Weber JS, Anichini A. T-cell activation andmaturation at tumor site associated withobjective response to ipilimumab in metastaticmelanoma. J Clin Oncol. 2011; 29: e783-8.

Procopio G, Guadalupi V, Giganti MA, Mariani L,Salvioni R, Nicolai N, Capone F, Valdagni R, BajettaE. Low dose of ketoconazole in patients withprostate adenocarcinoma resistant topharmacological castration. BJU Int. 2011; 108:223-7.

Contributions

The Unit, together with other importantmembers of the multidisciplinary team, was askedby ROL (Rete Oncologica Lombarda) to updatenational guidelines. Prof. de Braud and Dr. DelVecchio were involved in drafting theMELANOMA guidelines (AIOM).

109 Scientific Report 2011

110Medical Oncology Department

medical oncology 2

HEAD Alessandro M. Gianni, MD

CLINICAL RESEARCH STAFF Liliana F. Devizzi, MD Massimo A. Di Nicola, MD Anna Guidetti, MD Michele Magni, MD Paola Matteucci, MD Simonetta Viviani, MD

RESEARCH STAFFAlessandra Canavè, PhDGiusi Ruggero, Fellow Roberta Zappasodi, PhD

ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL Maria Luisa Longhi

FELLOWSLuca Bergamaschi, MD Annamaria Marte, MD Emanuela Paternò, MD

NURSES Caterina Asprella, Stefania Bevacqua, MatteoBiondelli, Rita Boffa, Salvatore Capuano,Letizia De Palma, Elisea Ferrante, VeronicaFuccio, Santina Marafioti, Giovanna Miceli,Andrea Mulas, Immacolata Navarra, ChiaraPaternoster, Lucia Saracino, GiuseppinaTomassini, Daniela Trentin

HEALTHCARE ASSISTANTSAntonietta M. Maglione, Agnese Lasala,Loredana Costa, Mauro L.Pedretti, AntonellaDi Perna

TECHNICIANS Paolo D. Longoni, Marco Milanesi

Medical Oncology 2 Unit carries out both preclinical andclinical translational research in a variety of fields, includ-ing hematopoietic stem cells, immunotherapy, autologousstem cell transplantation (ASCT), and targeted therapies.The Unit includes four areas (a 12-bed inpatient ward; aday hospital facility; an outpatient clinic with three con-sulting rooms; a cell processing laboratory) and providescare mainly for patients with non-Hodgkin lymphomas(NHL), Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), multiple myeloma, andselected patients with high-risk germ cell testiculartumors. During 2011, an average of 150 patients weretreated as inpatients, resulting in a total of 500admissions, and 35 patients received ASCT. A total of1500 treatments were administered in day hospital. Anaverage of 300 new outpatients requested examination.The activity of the cell processing laboratory consisted of1100 CD34+ cell monitoring and 220 stem cell cryop-reservations. The following phase II and III studies have been launchedfrom our Unit:

• phase III study comparing rituximab-ABVD and ABVDfollowed by involved-field radiotherapy in early-stage HL• phase II trial evaluating ofatumumab, bendamustine, anddexamethasone in elderly patients with mantle cell NHL• phase II trials investigating efficacy and safety of epige-netic and targeted therapies in relapsed/refractorylymphomas. A randomized phase III trial in advanced stage HLpatients receiving ABVD or BEACOPP as first-linechemotherapy has been concluded and its results havebeen published in the New England Journal of Medicine.Two randomized phase III clinical studies comparing stan-dard- and high-dose chemotherapy in aggressive NHLand chronic lymphocytic leukemia have been concluded.In the preclinical area, we identified HSP105 as a novelNHL tumor antigen whose expression was higher inaggressive NHL. Studies in mice suggest inhibiting HSP105could help treat B cell NHL. Developing new anti-HSP105 therapeutic monoclonal antibodies is ongoing.Keywords: lymphoproliferative disease, stem cell transplantation,

immunotherapy

RELEVANT NOTES

Collaborations

Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), Rome, Italy;Cancer Centers of Federazione Italiana Linfomi(FIL); Istituto di Ematologia “Seragnoli”, Universityof Bologna, Italy; Department of Hematology,University of Turin, Italy; MD Anderson CancerCenter, Houston, Texas, USA

Publications

Viviani S, Zinzani PL, Rambaldi A, Brusamolino E,Levis A, Bonfante V, Vitolo U, Pulsoni A, Liberati AM,Specchia G, Valagussa P, Rossi A, Zaja F, Pogliani EM,

Pregno P, Gotti M, Gallamini A, Rota Scalabrini D,Bonadonna G, Gianni AM; MichelangeloFoundation; Gruppo Italiano di Terapie Innovativenei Linfomi; Intergruppo Italiano Linfomi. ABVDversus BEACOPP for Hodgkin’s lymphoma whenhigh-dose salvage is planned. N Engl J Med. 2011;365: 203-12.

Zappasodi R, Bongarzone I, Ghedini GC, CastagnoliL, Cabras AD, Messina A, Tortoreto M, Tripodo C,Magni M, Carlo-Stella C, Gianni AM, Pupa SM, DiNicola M. Serological identification of HSP105 as anovel non-Hodgkin lymphoma therapeutic target.Blood. 2011; 118: 4421-30.

pediatric oncology

HEAD Maura Massimino, MD

CLINICAL RESEARCH STAFF Michela Casanova, MD Graziella Cefalo (until September 30)Andrea Ferrari, MD Roberto Luksch, MD Cristina Meazza, MD Daniela Polastri, MD Filippo Spreafico, MD Monica Terenziani, MD

RESEARCH STAFFVeronica Biassoni, MD Serena Catania, MD Cristina Meazza, MD Marta Podda, MD Elisabetta Schiavello, MD Marco Vajna de Pava, MD Carlo Alfredo Clerici, MD psychologist Barbara Giacon, psychologist Fabio Simonetti, MD Francesca Favini, resident

ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNELPaola Gorgoglione, Gabriella Vighi

DATA MANAGERSLuna Boschetti, Chiara Secco

TECHNICIANSElena Barzanò

SOCIAL WORKERSGiovanna Casiraghi, Michela Rapetti

TEACHERSStefania Benedetti, Franca Bertola, CinziaCassanelli

EDUCATORSAntonia Biasi, Manuela Farina, MariaCremona, Andrea Gazzi, Angelo Prati, Delia Rimoldi

NURSESMariangela Armiraglio (head nurse), CeciliaAlberti, Giulia Antonacci, Iris Baranella,Morena Berti, Daniela Bruno, CristinaComelli, Patrizia Conti, Domenica Costeri,Lucia Curelli, Ruggero Fauro, Marta Ferrante,Carmelo Fiorello, Giuseppe Forzini, MarinellaGaidolfi, Rossana Ghezzi, Laura Lottaroli,Simone Macchi, Rossana Marra, ManuelaOriani, Elisa Procopio, Silvana Saverino, ElisaTriglia

HEALTHCARE ASSISTANTSAnnamaria Bilanzuoli, Gisella Cancedda, RitaCarulli, Silvana Celauro, Rita Marina Tamburo,Stella Uzzardi

Brain tumors. The Division is the national coordinatorfor trials in localized medulloblastoma that are in thepipeline. Coordination continues for the second nationalstudy on ependymoma (129 patients) for the Europeanprotocol. Brain stem gliomas. A pilot study with concomitantradiotherapy, anti-EGFR nimotuzumab and vinorelbine hasaccrued 21 patients demonstrating an improvement withprevious results in PFS and OS.Neuroblastoma. The Division has the national coordina-tion of the pan-European protocol for high-riskneuroblastoma; over 370 Italian patients have beenenrolled so far (51 by our unit). Wilms tumor. The Division chairs the national WorkingGroup for clinical and biological studies, and also chairsthe relapse program. Soft-tissue sarcomas. Accrual for the EpSSG trials (co-coordinated by one of us) is ongoing: 2010 patients from16 different countries, 212 from our center, the highestaccrual. Rare childhood tumors. The Division co-coordinates anational-scale cooperative project for the most uncom-

mon pediatric cancers. Since the project started, 600patients have been enrolled (one third from our center).A European Network has been established on raretumors, called EXPeRT (European Cooperative StudyGroup on Pediatric Rare Tumors): a member of our cen-ter co-coordinates the group. Bone tumors. A new protocol for localized limb osteosar-coma has been launched, including mifamurtide foradverse biological features. Germ-cell malignancies. The Unit is the national coordi-nator for this trial. New drugs. A phase 1 “first-in-child” trial with LDE225(anti-SMO) and two front-line randomized trials inmetastatic sarcoma and high-grade glioma withbevacizumab. Board member of Pan-European Network for Care ofSurvivors after Childhood and Adolescent Cancer (Pan-Care) Adolescents. Our center leads the AIEOP nationalWorking Group. A Youth Project has been recentlylaunched by our Unit.Keywords: international trials, new drugs, adolescents

RELEVANT NOTES

Collaborations

AIEOP (Associazione Italiana di EmatologiaOncologia Pediatrica); SIOP (International Societyfor Pediatric Oncology) COG (ChildrenOncology Group) ISG (Italian Sarcoma Group)

Publications

Chosen among the over 30 already published:

Ferrari A, Miceli R, Rey A, Oberlin O, Orbach D,Brennan B, Mariani L, Carli M, Bisogno G,Cecchetto G, De Salvo GL, Casanova M,Vannoesel MM, Kelsey A, Stevens MC, Devidas M,Pappo AS, Spunt SL. Non-metastatic unresectedpaediatric non-rhabdomyosarcoma soft tissuesarcomas: results of a pooled analysis from UnitedStates and European groups. Eur J Cancer. 2011;47: 724-31.

Massimino M, Gandola L, Barra S, Giangaspero F,Casali C, Potepan P, Di Rocco C, Nozza P, Collini P,Viscardi E, Bertin D, Biassoni V, Cama A, MilanaccioC, Modena P, Balter R, Tamburrini G, Peretta P,Mascarin M, Scarzello G, Fidani P, Milano GM, SardiI, Genitori L, Garrè ML. Infant ependymoma in a10-year AIEOP (Associazione Italiana EmatologiaOncologia Pediatrica) experience with omitted ordeferred radiotherapy. Int J Radiat Oncol BiolPhys. 2011; 80: 807-14.

Contributions

Eupolis Master for Hospital Management (M.Massimino) Editor of the book: D. Schneider, I.Brecht, T. Olson, A. Ferrari. Rare tumors in childrenand adolescents. Springer (with manycontributors in the Unit).

111 Scientific Report 2011

112Medical Oncology Department

adult sarcoma medical treatment

HEADPaolo G. Casali, MD

CLINICAL RESEARCH STAFF Rossella Bertulli, MD; Beatrice De Troia, MD;Elena Fumagalli, MD; Michela Libertini, MD;Andrea Marrari, MD; Elena Palassini, MD;Roberta Sanfilippo, MD; Silvia Stacchiotti, MD

RESIDENTSMauro Rossitto, MD

DATA MANAGERSCamilla Cassani, PhD; Cinzia Molendini, PhD

ADMINISTRATIVESStefania Cimbari, PhD; Anabela Di Giovanni,PhD; Paola Esposti; Elisabetta Prati, PhD

Data managers and administrative staff are shared withthe Head and Neck Cancer Medical Oncology Unit

This Medical Oncology Unit deals with adult patients withsarcomas and peritoneal mesothelioma within the institu-tional Multidisciplinary Sarcoma Group.In 2011, the Unit had more than 450 inpatient admissionsand over 5000 outpatient visits, with more than 1000 newsarcoma patients seen. About 600 new sarcoma patientswere clinically shared with other Italian centers through theItalian Network on Rare Cancers (RTR), a project aimed atdistantly sharing cases of adult patients with rare solid can-cers to improve the quality of care and reduce patientmigration. The Unit has always had a strong focus on networking. Inaddition to coordinating the national project of RTR, itcoordinates the rare cancer area of the Rete OncologicaLombarda (ROL), the cancer network of LombardyRegion. The Unit also submitted a project to create a vir-tual center on mesenchymal neoplasms in collaborationwith RTR and ROL by joining some centers in the Milanarea. From 2012, this should result in a highly strengthenedsarcoma facility in the Milan area, with the potential ofserving as one of the main reference centers for sarcomasin Europe. The Unit was involved in driving the update of the ESMOClinical Guidelines on STS and GIST and the ClinicalGuidelines on Sarcomas and Rare Tumors within theRegional Cancer Network. Clinical research activities

included the participation in 37 prospective clinical studieson sarcomas, with 60 patients enrolled in 2011. Amongothers, the Unit was the first enrolling center in the inter-national trial on regorafenib in advanced pre-treated GIST;it coordinates the medical therapy of the Italian SarcomaGroup trial on neoadjuvant histology-driven chemotherapyof high-risk soft tissue sarcomas; it coordinates a study inimatinib resistant-chordomas on imatinib + everolimus. In 2011, among others, the Unit published significant con-tributions to further understand the role of trabectedinand sunitinib in soft tissue sarcomas. It co-signed the gen-eral report of the RARECARE project, which finalized aclinically and epidemiologically sound definition of “rarecancers”, also providing a “list” of them, with incidence,prevalence, and survival data in Europe. It co-signed thereport of an important retrospectiveclinical/molecular/pathologic study on the natural history ofGIST. Other significant scientific papers were accepted andare due for publication in 2012, among others with regardto: a Phase 2 study on imatinib in chordoma, which theUnit coordinated after first reporting the efficacy of thistargeted therapy in such a rare disease; the Italian SarcomaGroup trial on 3 vs. 5 cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapyin high-risk soft tissue sarcomas; other reports on the his-tology-driven approach to soft tissue sarcomas. Keywords: adult sarcoma, GIST, rare cancers

2011 RELEVANT NOTES

Publications

Casali PG, Sanfilippo R. Uterine sarcomas: amultidisciplinary challenge. Eur J Cancer 2011; 47Suppl 3: S326-7.

Casali PG. Medical oncology: the long-awaited prizeof recognition. Ann Oncol. 2011;22(8):1695-7.

Stacchiotti S, Casali PG. Systemic therapy optionsfor unresectable and metastatic chordomas. CurrOncol Rep. 2011; 13: 323-30.

Stacchiotti S, Palassini E, Sanfilippo R, Vincenzi B, ArenaMG, Bochicchio AM, De Rosa P, Nuzzo A, Turano S,Morosi C, Dei Tos AP, Pilotti S, Casali PG. Gemcita -bine in advanced angiosarcoma: a retrospective caseseries analysis from the Italian Rare Cancer Network.Ann Oncol. 2012; 23(2): 501-8.

Italiano A, Laurand A, Laroche A, Casali P, SanfilippoR, Le Cesne A, Judson I, Blay JY, Ray-Coquard I, BuiB, Coindre JM, Nieto A, Tercero JC, Jimeno J, RobertJ, Pourquier P. ERCC5/XPG, ERCC1, and BRCA1gene status and clinical benefit of trabectedin inpatients with soft tissue sarcoma. Cancer. 2011;117(15): 3445-56.

Stacchiotti S, Negri T, Zaffaroni N, Palassini E,Morosi C, Brich S, Conca E, Bozzi F, Cassinelli G,Gronchi A, Casali PG, Pilotti S. Sunitinib inadvanced alveolar soft part sarcoma: evidence of adirect antitumor effect. Ann Oncol. 2011; 22(7):1682-90.

Sanfilippo R, Miceli R, Grosso F, Fiore M, Puma E,Pennacchioli E, Barisella M, Sangalli C, Mariani L,Casali PG, Gronchi A. Myxofibrosarcoma:Prognostic Factors and Survival in a Series of

Patients Treated at a Single Institution. Ann SurgOncol. 2011; 18: 720-5.

Contributions

Paolo G. Casali is: Member of the Executive Boardof the European Society for Medical Oncology(ESMO) as Chair of the Public Policy Committee;Member of the Sarcoma Faculty of the EuropeanSociety for Medical Oncology (ESMO); Member ofthe Policy Committee of the European CancerOrganization (ECCO); Secretary of the ItalianSarcoma Group; Member of the EORTC SoftTissue and Bone Sarcoma Group; Coordinator ofthe Italian Network on Rare Tumors; Member ofthe Regional Oncology Commission, RegioneLombardia, Italy; Coordinator of the Rare CancerGroup of the Lombardia Oncology Network;Editor in chief of Clinical Sarcoma Research(http://www.clinicalsarcomaresearch.com)

113 Scientific Report 2011

head and neck cancer medical oncology

HEAD Lisa Licitra, MD

CLINICAL RESEARCH STAFF Cristiana Bergamini, MD Paolo Bossi, MDLaura Locati, MDAurora Mirabile, MD

RESIDENTSRoberta Granata, MDCarlo Resteghini, MDMartina Imbimbo, MD

Data managers and administrative staff are shared withthe Adult Sarcoma Medical Treatment Unit

The Unit performed the following clinical activities in2011: 474 inpatient admissions, 75 day hospitaladmissions, and 3723 outpatient visits. In 2011, the fol-lowing clinical trials were conducted: five studies wereopened with 58 patients enrolled; five trials on thyroidcancer, nine on squamous head and neck cancer, one onsalivary gland tumor, and one on basal cell carcinomawere active. The Unit was also involved in the establish-ment of the oncological network in Lombardy (ROL) forhead and neck cancers.Keywords: head and neck cancer, medical oncology, clinical research

RELEVANT NOTES

Collaborations

Lisa Licitra is a member of the board of theEORTC and chair-elect of the Head & NeckEORTC group

The Unit coordinates the START project.

Publications

Bossi P, Orlandi E, Bergamini C, Locati LD, GranataR, Mirabile A, Parolini D, Franceschini M, Fallai C,Olmi P, Quattrone P, Potepan P, Gloghini A, Miceli R,Mattana F, Scaramellini G, Licitra L. Docetaxel,

cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil-based inductionchemotherapy followed by intensity-modulatedradiotherapy concurrent with cisplatin in locallyadvanced EBV-related nasopharyngeal cancer. AnnOncol. 2011; 22(11): 2495-500.

Granata R, Miceli R, Orlandi E, Perrone F, CortelazziB, Franceschini M, Locati LD, Bossi P, Bergamini C,Mirabile A, Mariani L, Olmi P, Scaramellini G,Potepan P, Quattrone P, Ang KK, Licitra L. Tumorstage, human papillomavirus and smoking statusaffect the survival of patients with oropharyngealcancer: an Italian validation study. Ann Oncol. 2011Dec 21.

Contributions

Lisa Licitra is:

Associate Editor, Annals of Oncology

Chair Head and Neck faculty for ESMO

The Unit is responsible for the production andupdating of guidelines for head and neck cancer.

114Medical Oncology Department

medical day hospital

HEAD Roberto Buzzoni, MD

CLINICAL RESEARCH STAFF Laura A.M. Ferrari, MD

CLINICAL FELLOWSGiuseppe Fanetti, MD Angela Damato, MD

ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNELAnna R. Cabiddu Antonella Bifano

NURSESDeborah Zordan (head nurse), ChiaraBernasconi, Domenica Comberiati, LuciaD’Agnessa (pharmacy), Laura Di Vico,Claudia Facchinetti, Anna Frisario, LuciaGiordano, Francesca Maffione, Elena Nuti,Maria Paolillo, Maria N. Pisanu, StefaniaRusso, Elena Sala (pharmacy), Laura Sala,Sonia Sanapo, Pietrina Sanna

HEALTHCARE ASSISTANTSVincenzina Arnone, Fabio Di Bartolo, LuciaA. Di Murro, Maria Rosa Forte, Anna MariaMeloni, Rita Trovato

The Day Hospital and Oncologic Outpatient TherapyUnit (MDH) treats adult patients referred by differentclinical Units of the Department. The complexity of someoncologic medical treatments and the increasing numberof medical trials frequently require close observation dur-ing treatment and one day hospitalization. Treatments areprepared by specialized nurses who dilute therapeuticagents in a protected area equipped with two air flowcabinets, and administer them under the supervision ofMDH physicians. A separate section is dedicated to shortduration regimens or biological therapies by infusionpump systems and management of central venouscatheters. Special care is given to management and pre-vention of emesis, diarrhea, extravasation of cytotoxicdrugs, and acute drug reactions for which a project aboutpharmacovigilance (FARMAONCO) is ongoing. The refer-ent physician of this regional project is Dr. Ferrari since2009. The acute adverse effects are reported, with thehelp of Dr. Fanetti, in a database. A room in the outpa-tient clinic is dedicated to diagnosis, treatment, and

follow-up in patients diagnosed with neuroendocrinetumors (NET) and a database with all NET casesfollowed in our Institution is ongoing with the collabora-tion of Dr. Damato. Our Institution has been certified as aCenter of Excellence by the European Society Neuroen-docrine Tumors. In 2011, the activity of MDH consisted in approximately21,500 procedures (monthly average activity of 1800).51% of these procedures were short therapies, 36% longtherapies, 4% treatments requiring admission, and 9%were medical procedures (i.e. CVC medications, lumbarpuncture, bone marrow biopsy). The cancer types treatedwere breast cancer (35%), gastrointestinal cancer (20%),hematologic malignancies (23%), melanoma (6%), lungcancer (8%), head and neck cancer (2.5%), sarcomas(1.5%), and other tumors (3%). Moreover, about 100adverse drug reactions were reported during the year.Keywords: medical procedures, adverse drug reactions,

neuroendocrine tumors

RELEVANT NOTES

Publications

Platania M, Agustoni F, Formisano B, Vitali M,Ducceschi M, Pietrantonio F, Zilembo N,Gelsomino F, Pusceddu S, Buzzoni R. Clinicalretrospective analysis of erlotinib in the treatmentof elderly patients with advanced non-small celllung cancer. Target Oncol. 2011; 6(3): 181-6.

Procopio G, Verzoni E, Iacovelli R, Guadalupi V,Gelsomino F, Buzzoni R. Targeted therapies usedsequentially in metastatic renal cell cancer: overallresults from a large experience. Expert RevAnticancer Ther. 2011; 11(11): 1631-40.

Contributions

Roberto Buzzoni is a member of the EditorialBoard of Tumori

The Unit is in part responsible for the productionand updating of NET guidelines of the ROLClinical Guidelines

Roberto Buzzoni in center coordinator, ENETcenter of excellence (Milan)

Laura A.M. Ferrari is a member of the Commission“Dirigenza Medica” of Milan Medical Association

Laura A.M. Ferrari is INT Referent Member at“Dipartimento Oncologico Milanese”